The Albuquerque Public School district is currently missing two of its top officials, and that could mean trouble for the district's bottom line.

A photo of Don Moya is still on the APS district website, but lately, he hasn't been roaming the halls of the district headquarters. The chief financial officer is on leave.

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It's a move that concerns former APS school board member Robert Lucero.

"I think the district is in a little bit of trouble," Lucero said.

Lucero served on the finance board when Moya was hired.

"I know personally that there's nobody who has the qualifications of Don Moya," Lucero said.

That's important, he says, because the CFO at the district controls billions of dollars.

"At the start of the school year, the most important person in APS is not the superintendent and it's not the board members, but it is the financial director. He is the key," Lucero said.

That's because each fall, district officials start applying for bond money. It's how cities and school districts pay for different capital improvements, like new schools.

Lucero said trouble at the top affects those financial options.

"When they're investing that kind of money with the city of Albuquerque and the school district, you know that they are going to know anything and everything that happens in this community," Lucero said.

Lucero said investors shy away from instability, which means APS could have a harder time getting bond money at a low interest rate. At the end of the day, Lucero said that means more taxpayer money goes into paying for new schools and other improvements.